290 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. [Proc. 3D Ser. 



went their way down the coast. The line of passing birds 

 was unbroken when I returned to shore, just before sun- 

 down. The persistency with which these skimmers of the 

 sea fly near the surface of the water was well illustrated. 

 To clear the higher waves they had to rise above them, 

 but immediately descended to their former level when the 

 obstacle was overcome. There was southward movement, 

 also, in Surf Scoters and Loons. The companies of the 

 latter were larger than upon previous occasions. 



October 22. A little after seven in the morning Black- 

 vented Shearwaters were passing out to sea along the shore 

 of the bay within half a mile of the Laboratory. On going 

 out to them it was found they crowded a highway about 

 half a mile wide. With the sun behind us, they were trans- 

 formed against the background of sky and water into white 

 birds, the lining of the wings and the other under parts pre- 

 vailing over the rest of the plumage. From the opposite 

 point of view they were dark birds. All unhesitatingly 

 changed their course southward at Point Pinos, many 

 rounding the Point inside of the buoy. After half past ten 

 the flight became feebler, and for a while they appeared in 

 flocks, which finally increased into a stream, broken at 

 intervals. By noon the line of movement within the bay 

 had shifted nearer to the shore, and was not more than an 

 eighth of a mile from the Laboratory. -They were very 

 unsuspicious and the boat could have been filled with speci- 

 mens if they had been desired. There was a migration of 

 Loons, in twos and threes and small companies. They pur- 

 sued the same general path as the Shearwaters, but at a 

 higher elevation. Most of the forenoon straggling parties 

 of Heermann's and Western Gulls (the latter chiefiy young 

 birds) were moving down the coast. A decoy being thrown 

 into the air, those passing at the moment decoyed, circling 

 overhead. After a young Western and an old Heermann's 

 had been shot the others proceeded on their way. A few 

 solitary adult Western Gulls came into the bay from below. 

 They seemed to pay no attention to the travellers going in 

 the opposite direction. Five bands of Surf Scoters (the 



